


Light in the Night

by dreamkist



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, New Year's Eve, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 00:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12829737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamkist/pseuds/dreamkist
Summary: “Is it Christmas?” he looked around as though the air would confirm or deny it.  The presence of the Christmas tree was clearly not sufficient evidence.





	Light in the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ginger_timelady](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger_timelady/gifts).



Clara finished clearing away the dishes from Christmas dinner. She was glad she got to spend the day with her family, but she was also ready to relax with them gone. She went into her bedroom and changed into a comfy outfit of sweater and leggings.

She had just settled in to watch an old movie when she heard the familiar sound that heralded the Doctor’s arrival. She felt the same thrill of excitement she always had when he arrived. The TARDIS materialized, and the Doctor flung the door open to walk into her Christmas tree.

She couldn’t help but laugh a little at him as he tried to keep it from toppling over. When he had righted it and squeezed between it and the TARDIS she asked, “Are you done fondling my tree?”

He gathered his dignity. “In my defense, someone put it right in my way.” He whispered something to the tree that she couldn’t hear then he acted like he was listening to it. “Just so you know, the tree blames you too, Clara,” he informed her.

Clara rolled her eyes at him. “So, what brings you here on Christmas?” she inquired.

“Is it Christmas?” he looked around as though the air would confirm or deny it. The presence of the Christmas tree was clearly not sufficient evidence.

“It is,” she teased, “I take it you didn’t bring me a present, then.” She tried to look bothered.

He only paused for a moment and then said, “I’m here, aren’t I?” He spread his hands, “I am your present.” He looked terribly pleased with that answer.

She pursed her lips and tried not to smile. “I guess you’ll have to do,” she said in an unsatisfied tone. She gave him a once over. She looked at his tall figure in the black coat. And his grey hair and the face that was almost as familiar as her own. If she were honest, he was an excellent gift, but she wasn’t going to say that out loud. His head was big enough.

Barbara Stanwyck in black and white drew her attention back to the movie she had playing. “Sit down, Doctor. Watch this with me." She invited him to sit with a tilt of her head to the empty space beside her.

He stood there and considered the situation. He probably wanted to get back in the TARDIS and find something more exciting to do. She knew he probably wouldn’t stay, but she gave him a small smile with soft eyes, and he relented.

He gingerly sat beside her curled up legs on the sofa and focused on the screen. She was delighted he was going to stay.

“Merry Christmas, Doctor,” she said to him.

“Merry Christmas, Clara,” he said in a soft voice and turned back to the movie.

Her sock-covered feet drifted closer to him as the movie went on, and when they made contact with his leg, and he placed a hand over them, Clara pretended the display of affection was nothing, but it felt like everything.

* * *

The clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, and the fireworks went off. They burst in the sky and rained down little fragments of light. The Doctor and Clara had climbed to her building’s roof to watch the display. They were sat side by side. Various shouts could be heard in the distance from people celebrating.

“Thanks for coming, Doctor,” Clara said.

“New Year’s is a good holiday. An ending and beginning in one.” He looked at her, and she could see the colorful lights reflected on his face.

Clara leaned into his side. She knew he had a frown on his face at first, but he looked back to the sky with a small, tender smile he couldn’t suppress. She rested her head against his shoulder when she knew he was going to let her. He was warm, and she wanted to nestle close.

“Do you have a resolution?” he asked. “I do have the right holiday, don’t I? This is the one where humans make resolutions they have no intention of following through with?”

“I didn’t think about it this year," she realized, "I guess I’m happy with things how they are." And there in the cold night air with the Doctor at her side she knew how true that was. She wrapped her arm through his and held on tight.

The fireworks ended, and she didn’t want to move. He seemed to be content to remain there too. “It’s a bit sad when they end,” Clara murmured against the Doctor’s arm.

“But what begins with their ending?” he asked thoughtfully.

Clara didn’t reply; she exhaled and decided to take a chance. “There is another New Year’s Eve tradition, Doctor,” she said after they were quiet for awhile. “People usually kiss at midnight, you know.” She said it before she could stop herself, and she felt him tense up as she spoke the words.

“I suppose they do,” he said, and she thought he would leave it at that. She was prepared to pretend she had never mentioned it.

So, she was surprised when he added, “It’s a little past midnight, though.”

She raised her face up to his and, without thinking about it, leaned in to kiss him. It was a simple press of her lips to his then she pulled away to judge his reaction. Her own heart was racing.

His expression was easy to read–she could practically see the thoughts go through his mind as he calculated every possible way this could be a bad thing–until he seemed to toss all those worries aside. She could feel the tension leave his body, and his face softened.

She smiled at him and maybe got lost in his eyes for a moment.

He gave her a gentle smile in return. And he brought their lips back together. The kiss was tentative and sweet. He was space and time and home and _hers_.

When they parted, Clara snuggled closer to him, and he wrapped an arm around her.

They were a few minutes late and right on time. It was a beginning.


End file.
